With Words Unspoken
by SinningBySilence
Summary: "Because she's the one in his arms tonight. And even if this is all she has left with him, she won't waste it."


**_All I have to say is blame my current obsession with Jessie Mueller playing Carole King and her rendition of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" (which I would highly recommend listening to for maximum emotional experience). Because those feels are entirely responsible for this. Every bit of it._**

* * *

His lips are on hers the moment she opens the door.

She barely gets out a greeting and a question of why he's there before he's pressing her up against the nearest wall. She sighs into his kiss. Oh, how she missed his kisses. It feels like an eternity since the last time his lips touched hers, and she can't help but melt into him.

Suddenly, everything begins to burn. The more he touches her, the more she craves, but everything inside her is screaming, "This is wrong." It takes all of her strength to part from him, looking directly into his eyes to find a plethora of confusing emotions. His look is dark with lust, tender with love, and so incredibly broken. More broken than she recalls ever seeing him.

"Robin," she breathes, but he only kisses her again because he knows what she's about to say next.

He knows what's she's about to say, and he doesn't want her to say it.

"Please," he begs, his voice cracking.

She notes the bloodshot white spaces around his irises and the puffy, red skin around his eyes. Whether it's from lack of sleep, emotional exhaustion, or both, she can't tell. In that moment, she doesn't care about what's right. She doesn't even care that his breath smells heavily of whiskey. She cares about _him_, this man who's hit rock bottom. This man who came to her instead of seeking comfort in the woman who was meant to be his wife. This man who has clearly fallen for her instead.

He's no unfaithful husband, she knows that. Or at least she tells herself that because it's the only way she can be okay with the decision she's about to make.

She doesn't give him another chance to speak nor does she give herself a chance to back out. Her mouth finds his, and from that moment all abandon is unleashed. This is what she's wanted all this time. _He_ is what she's wanted. Giving up on him was never an option.

Before she realizes it, they're in her bedroom. Clothing is strewn all across the floor of the dark, moonlit bedroom. The soft kisses he trails down her neck send shivers throughout her entire body. Hands that graze her skin make her hum with need. Words, sweet and loving, whispered into her ear make her forget why they shouldn't be here.

When he swoops her up and places her on the bed, he looks at her as if she's the most precious treasure in the world. Her heart thumps inside her chest because no one other than Daniel has ever looked at her this way. And despite encounters as she's had with men in the past, no one has ever touched her quite like this.

The moonlight paints his face, just enough for her to catch a sparkle in his eye. Then the first smile that she's seen on his face in weeks appears, and his passionate kiss becomes one of joy rather than desperation.

They take their sweet time, kissing and caressing every inch of skin they can reach. They explore one another, and soon he has every nerve in her body singing with pleasure. She gives back as much as she gets, taking joy in every groan and gasp she elicits from him. When they finally become one, it's almost too much for her. But she gives in, falling apart in his arms over and over.

It isn't until hours later, when he's asleep and she's wrapped in his arms, that the heaviness sets back in. Suddenly, his warm, steady breath against her shoulder feels like blistering heat, and strong but gentle hands that rest just below her breasts feel like shackles. It's a dread that comes with the realization that he still has a wife. The same wife for whom she had told him to go after to try to make a life with again. The same wife who he had first pledged his love and life to and who had given him a son. The same wife he had spent years mourning over, for whom he would have walked through hell to see again.

Not only had this woman shared many milestones with him, she was a good person. A good person who hadn't asked for anything that was transpiring and was only acting on what she knew. A good person who believed her husband still loved her and was right to think so.

Regina glances at Robin, and seeing him content is almost painful. What happens when he wakes and his conscience kicks in? What happens when he has to leave and go back to the woman he had already promised himself to? Worse, what happens if he realizes that he can't bear to let go of his first chance and chooses her instead?

After all, Regina can't blame him. Who would dare choose someone so screwed up and broken as she is? Who would choose the Evil Queen who's destroyed and hurt more people than she's ever loved?

_No one_, a cruel voice inside her whispers.

As much as she wants to believe that what they just shared means something, she isn't naïve enough to think that it's impossible for him to change his mind. She knows emotionally compromised people can trick themselves into believing they're in love. Who's to say this isn't his heart's way of saying goodbye once and for all?

Silent tears roll down her cheeks; shame for letting herself be so careless, and fear of being hurt again both gnawing at her stronger than ever.

He's a good man, she tells herself. Because he is, and he's not making the decisions he's making to hurt anyone. She knows better than most how he's struggled. She's seen the way his heart has been pulled in all directions. It's why she shut him out in the first place, why she'd pushed him toward one choice.

Yet he still came back to her.

Why?

Her racing thoughts are suddenly interrupted when she feels him draw her closer. She wipes her tears then, hoping he won't notice. He does.

"Sleep," he murmurs, pressing a kiss to her temple. "I'm right here. I'm yours."

_Yours._

He says it so reverently, and she wants to believe it. She wants to believe it will still be true come morning. So, she basks in the fact that, for now, he means it and wants to make everything right. And it's enough to allow her to drift to sleep.

Because she's the one in his arms tonight. And even if this is all she has left with him, she won't waste it.

* * *

**_Thoughts? Comments?_**


End file.
